Category: Dinner

I can’t believe the weather here in Georgia…it goes from snowing, to 70+ degrees in less than a week! We have been craving some lake time, so we cleaned up the boat and slipped on over to Lake Lanier for a family evening on the water.

I knew the hubs would be hungry so I whipped up some homemade broccoli mac and cheese for a dinner on the boat!

Its super simple, quick, and travels nicely in small containers. Plus you get to toss in that serving of greens too…can’t beat that! Enjoy!!

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I absolutely LOVE chicken from the crock pot! I feel like you just about can’t mess it up. It always comes out tender and full of flavor. Let’s also not forget the easy clean up, and dinner is practically done when you get home! This week I tried out a whole chicken in the crock pot and used the meat for a couple of dinners!

Doesn’t it look so yummy!!! I started by placing 4 foil balls in the bottom of the crock pot to keep the chicken out of the juices while it cooked. Then I packed the inside of that 5.4 lb bird with 1/2 cup onions, 1/2 cup carrots, 1/2 cup celery, and 2 lemons. I finished with a covering of Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning over the outside of the bird.

I turned the crockpot on high for 4 hours and left for work. I shortened the suggested cook time because I knew I would be gone 8+ hours for the work day. Once my crockpot is done with cooking time, it will stay on the “warm” setting (which is still pretty hot for my crockpot) until I turn it off…so I knew the bird would keep cooking the remaining 4 hours. If you are home to watch it, cook for 4 1/2 – 5 hours (or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees).

I ALWAYS use a crock pot bag, so when I got home I just lifted the bag out of the crock pot and placed it in a roasting pan so I could easily slice the chicken. Well, honestly I attempted to slice it, but it was so tender it just fell apart. It was AMAZING!!! SO much flavor and melt-in-your-mouth tender.

I pulled off enough meat for that night’s dinner, and then pulled off the rest of the white meat and put it in the fridge to make chicken and cheese quesadillas the next night! I also pull off all the dark meat and save it for the dogs. 🙂

Enjoy!

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Are you looking for a simple, super delicious dinner? Try this one out!

Have you ever made a foil packet dinner? I have two on the meal plan for this week and I love them! You literally toss everything into a sheet of foil, fold it up and bake it! And the clean up is super simple too!

I sliced up all my veggies, but if you aren’t on a super tight budget you could make the dinner even faster to put together by purchasing veggies that are already chopped up! (I just loved cooked carrots! So healthy and such beautiful color!!)

So here is the simple process. Slice the veggies, cut the fat off your chicken, put it all on a sheet of foil, spoon a little dressing over the top, fold up and bake…yep thats it!

While these babies were cooking it filled out house with the most amazing smell! They came out of the oven perfectly steamed to fork tender! Hubs scrapped off the veggies, so I ate double helpings. It was so delicious and definitely in our “make-again” folder!

Put carrots in the microwave with one teaspoon of water and microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes.

Mix the basil, garlic, and Italian dressing together in a small bowl.

Place one piece of chicken on each sheet of foil (season with salt and pepper)

Cover and surround each piece of chicken with carrots, peppers, and onions.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of dressing mix over each chicken.

Fold the sides of the foil over the chicken, covering completely. Seal the packets closed.

Place foil packets on a baking sheet, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

So if you have pups, like we do….save your scraps you cut off of your chicken. (Spilling secrets here – I always cut a little more off than necessary because I know it’s going to the girls ;0) I wrapped up their scraps in foil, and only added carrots and 1 tablespoon of Italian dressing – NO onions, peppers, or salt & pepper. Onions are BAD for dogs – DO NOT feed your babies onions! I baked their chicken with ours and made a special dinner bowl for them when it all came out of the oven!

Yep – my 2dogs are spoiled rotten! They loved the chicken of course and gobbled it right up! The hardest part was keeping the kitty out of their bowls long enough for me to snap a picture. And I leave you with a quick little video of the girls saying “thank you” for their special chicken dinner! :0) Their sweet tails wagged the whole time they were eating!

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Appetizers are my weakness, especially the fried ones! I especially like the fried Southwestern Egg Rolls are Chilies. The definitely make the top of my list. BUT….lets look at the nutritional information for this favorite treat of mine:

When all of the egg rolls are wrapped and on the baking sheets, lightly mist the tops with cooking spray. Bake for 7 minutes, flip them over, and bake 8 more minutes, until the wrappers are golden brown. Serve with cilantro ranch dip (I will show you how to make that tomorrow).

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You know we like Mexican, Tex-Mex, and American-Mex over here at our house. I am trying to mix things up a bit and try some new recipes, so this casserole with quinoa seemed like a perfect thing to try. First, I had to explain to my boys what quinoa even was.

For your knowledge, here is what About.com has to say about quinoa:

While quinoa is usually considered to be a whole grain, it is actually a seed, but can be prepared like whole grains such as rice or barley. Try a quinoa salad recipe, or serve a vegetable stir-fry over cooked quinoa instead of rice. Quinoa is my favorite whole grain for three reasons: First, it takes less time to cook than other whole grains – just 10 to 15 minutes. Second, quinoa tastes great on its own, unlike other grains such as millet or teff. Add a bit of olive oil, sea salt and lemon juice and – yum! Finally, of all the whole grains, quinoa has the highest protein content, so it’s perfect for vegetarians and vegans. Quinoa provides all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Quinoa is a gluten-free and cholesterol-free whole grain, is kosher for Passover, and is almost always organic.

I have tried a couple new recipes with quinoa lately and I really like it. I had to get used to the texture because it is not like anything I had eaten before, but the flavor is so bland that you can really add it to just about any meal. So on with the recipe already.

Ingredients

2 Tbl olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2.5 cups cooked quinoa

1.5 cups cooked shredded chicken breast

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chilies

1 Tbl chili powder

2 cups enchilada sauce (1 – 19 oz can)

.5 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Directions

Heat oven to 350o and spray 8 inch square dish with cooking spray.

Heat 2 quart pot over medium-high heat. Add oil and onion and cook 5 minutes, or until the onion is clear and soft.

3. Reduce the heat to low. And quinoa, black beans, green chilies, chili powder and the enchilada sauce. Stir well and remove from the heat.

4. Stir in the cheddar cheese and transfer to the backing dish. Top evenly with pepper jack cheese.

5. Bake for 5 – 10 minutes, then broil for 1 to 2 minutes until cheese is golden and bubbly.

As I was cooking, I was munching on cucumber, and as usual, sharing my fresh veggies with my4-legged side-kicks. Harley was so funny about the cucumber. Of course Willow chomped it right up, but Harley would take it ever so gently and walk around the corner. After a minute or two she would come back begging for another piece. When I went to check on her, this is what I found:

That silly girl had ever so carefully taken all the seeds out of the cucumber and left it on the floor. I mean come on…even I eat the cucumber seeds. Such a silly dog!

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We love any kind of Tex-Mex recipes around this house. Tacos, Enchiladas, Burritos, Quesadillas, etc. Anything with a little spice and a lot of cheese and we are bought in. This Enchilada Pie grabbed my attention for two reasons, 1) crock pot (easy!) and 2) corn muffin mix (I love it!). It was a big hit. We all ate our servings and even had enough to pass on to my sister-in-law. It is a vegetarian friendly recipe too! I must say it isn’t the prettiest dish you will ever make, but it totally makes up for it in flavor!

Combine the rest of the green chilies, egg substitute, muffin mix, and cheese in a bowl. Spread the batter evenly over the bean mixture in the crock pot. Cover and cook for one more hour, or until the bread is done.

Top each serving with a sprinkle of cheese, a scoop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of parsley. Enjoy!